The present disclosure relates generally to pulse oximetry and, more specifically, to an adapter for connecting oximeter sensors with oximeter monitors.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of disclosed embodiments, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In the field of healthcare, caregivers (e.g., doctors and other healthcare professionals) often desire to monitor certain physiological characteristics of their patients. Accordingly, a wide variety of monitoring devices have been developed for monitoring many such physiological characteristics. These monitoring devices often provide doctors and other healthcare personnel with information that facilitates provision of the best possible healthcare for their patients. As a result, such monitoring devices have become a perennial feature of modern medicine.
One method for monitoring physiological characteristics of a patient is commonly referred to as pulse oximetry, and the devices built based upon pulse oximetry methods are commonly referred to as pulse oximeters. Pulse oximeters may be used to measure and monitor various blood flow characteristics of a patient. For example, a pulse oximeter may be utilized to monitor the blood oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in arterial blood (SpO2), the volume of individual blood pulsations supplying the tissue, and/or the rate of blood pulsations corresponding to each heartbeat of a patient. In fact, the “pulse” in pulse oximetry refers to the time-varying amount of arterial blood in the tissue during each cardiac cycle.
In general, monitoring systems, such as pulse oximetry systems, include a sensor and a monitor. The sensor collects data that is transmitted to the monitor for analysis. For example, pulse oximeters typically utilize a non-invasive sensor that is placed on or against a patient's tissue that is well perfused with blood, such as a patient's finger, toe, forehead or earlobe. The pulse oximeter sensor emits light and photoelectrically senses the light after passage through the perfused tissue. The sensor then transmits data relating to the sensed light to the monitor. The light emitted by the sensor is typically selected to include one or more wavelengths that are absorbed or scattered in an amount related to the presence of oxygenated versus de-oxygenated hemoglobin in the blood. Thus, data collected by the sensor relating to detected light may be used by a pulse oximeter to calculate one or more of the above-referenced physiological characteristics based upon the absorption or scattering of the light. For example, a monitor may use a determination of the amount of light absorbed and/or scattered, as detected by the sensor, to estimate an amount of oxygen in the tissue using various algorithms.
The sensors and monitors of typical monitoring systems, such as pulse oximeter systems, are often specifically configured to communicate with one another. For example, a sensor may be specifically configured to operate with a particular type of monitor. Indeed, if a sensor and a monitor are not specifically designed to cooperate, they may not function together. This can be an issue when upgrades are available for a sensor or monitor. For example, it may be desirable to utilize a new sensor that includes upgraded technology because it provides better performance and the upgraded technology is more affordable. However, older monitors, which can be expensive to replace, may not be able to take advantage of the improved sensor technology because they are not compatible with the updated technology.